The first thing you get on
this ale is the distinct aroma of grapefruit, which comes through strong in the
nose, as well as the flavor. As heavily hopped as it is, the bitterness
dissipates on the finish, which doesn't linger that long. It weighs in at 65
International Bitterness Units.

But the folks at Stone Brewing –
usually known for big, creative beers - are on to something with this ale: Go
big with the hops, low with the alcohol.

Don't expect the body of
an imperial India Pale Ale in this session ale, which is 4.5 percent alcohol.
It looks like a light beer but has much more flavor.

The brewer uses a
technique called "hop bursting," a method that calls for adding hops at
specific intervals in the brewing process to intensify flavor.

Warning: If you don't like
grapefruit you won't like this.

Stone hails from the San
Diego area.

Label:
White and yellow with Stone's classic horned gargoyle-like creature with hops
on either side. The folks at Stone also are never at a loss for words, so
expect a novella to read on the bottle while you sip.

Why hoist one:Alec Guinness – with a very appropriate last name to land in the
Crack One Open column - would have turned 100 on April 2. Also, we missed the
birthday recently of one of the greatest athletes' names ever, Mysterious
Walker. He was born 130 years ago, March 21, 1884 – and played five years in
the Majors, including a brief stint in 1912 with Cleveland.

Price:
N/A.

Marc Bona reviews and writes about beer for The
Plain Dealer. He is on Twitter - @mbona30. His stories can be found at
cleveland.com/drinks.

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.